Oneshot: With Wide Eyes
by colouredred
Summary: For as different as they were, and indefinable and boundless bond had formed between them. At first, it had been their common interest in pop bands (a love they alone shared) - but lately, it was all beginning to change. They had only to open their eyes wide to see it. Keishin Ukai/OC


**I hope you enjoy this complete mess of a oneshot.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own 'Haikyuu!' but claim responsibility for the atrocity that is my OC (Hiyori).**

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_With Wide Eyes_

His anxiety was a persistent itch in his side, an unwelcome concern that manifested itself into insurmountable irritation. Impatience wasn't easily quelled. His fingers lay on the bench, tapping a rhythm as if it could help. It was difficult to focus on his magazine, on anything other than not crushing the cigarette between his teeth.

Keishin Ukai was fed up with waiting.

He didn't like it. Though he was managing the Foothill store until eleven that night – typical of a Friday – he had been expecting a visitor. When Hiyori Shimizu said she would drop by at ten o'clock, he expected her to be there.

He had known her since high school, and knew her well enough to know it was abnormal for to be tardy. Her punctuality was one of the reasons she gained such infamy in their high school years; that, and her 'Goddess-like' beauty. Hiyori had reported to him that her little sister, Kiyoko, was very much the same.

When Keishin had absently replied that he hoped she wasn't as scary, he had earned himself a slap on the arm. It was Hiyori's irritation that led her to leave his place abruptly last night, and in that abruptness she forgot her phone.

At last, he felt he had enough. The cigarette in his mouth had become crushed unwittingly, so he took it out and left the remains in the ashtray. His eyes followed the smoke trail until it dissipated.

When next he glanced around, it was to the opening door.

The woman who stepped through looked to be in no particular hurry. Her black hair was trimmed to her jaw, worn neatly underneath the beanie. As her blue eyes flitted about, her lips remained in a set line. He couldn't help noticing that because he had always wanted to kiss her – that _her_ being Hiyori Shimizu.

"Kei-chan." She greeted seriously, despite the childish nickname.

"Ri-chan." He replied, mocking her use of the honorific. She called him that deliberately to piss him off.

Hiyori removed her hands from her jacket pockets. Judging from her attire – a tight, long-sleeved black dress – she hadn't been working that day. From the way she carried herself, it was no wonder she had been called 'Goddess'.

"You're half an hour late." Keishin reminded her.

"You're open till eleven. I don't see how it's a problem." She shrugged, approaching the counter.

He swivelled about in his chair, finally facing her front on. As she walked, he couldn't help appraise her figure, the gentle swing of her hips and the way her dress bunched at her waist. Keishin hadn't always seen her in this light – originally, they were friends only because of their mutual appreciate for pop-music girl groups – but recently his opinion had changed. It was sort of amazing that he hadn't seen it before, but she was the most beautiful girl he knew.

Over time, as he grew to know her more and more, everything that Hiyori was seemed to become written on her face. It was that, more than anything else, which Keishin considered most important.

"It's getting close to eleven now, idiot. I'm not sure I could have been bothered to wait for you past that." He argued.

"Just give me my phone."

"Yeah, just wait. You should've come earlier if you wanted it so badly – why are you so late, anyway?" he wondered. Though he had had more than enough time to speculate on the matter, the ideas he had come up with weren't too pleasing.

"It doesn't concern you." She dismissed.

"Yeah, it does."

"Why?" Hiyori pressed her lips together firmly.

"Because you- _hey!_ This isn't about me!"

She nodded in agreement. "It's about you giving me back my phone."

Keishin considered it briefly, before coming up with another idea. "Tell me why you're late, and I'll give it back."

"I can assure you it's not whatever your perverted mind is thinking – traffic was bad and I had to pick my sister up from our dad's house before taking her home to mum's," Hiyori sighed, "Phone, thanks."

He let out a loud exhale through his nose, betraying his fading impatience. He deposited the mobile into her outstretched hand, and Hiyori then tucked it away into the pocket of her jumper. When she continued loitering uncharacteristically, the unsettling feeling in his stomach grew.

"What?"

"I'm curious," she supplied vaguely, "About why it matters that I'm late."

"Well, for one thing, you're half an hour late. And you're not usually late at all."

"And the other thing?"

"What other thing?"

"You said 'for one thing' so what's the other?"

"Aren't you in a hurry to get home?"

The string of conversational questions ended there. "No." Hiyori said bluntly.

Keishin missed the comforting calm of his cigarette. It wouldn't do to get angry at her, as he should have expected such persistent curiosity from her.

"It isn't safe for you to be out this late." Keishin muttered lowly.

"…what?"

He kept his eyes to the counter, scowl growing deeper with every passing minute into silence.

"Were you worried?" she hypothesised.

The fact that it was a question bugged him the most. "Of course!" he cried, louder than intended.

Hiyori tentatively reached out, hiding her emotions well, before poking him in the head. "All that bleach in your hair must be killing your brain cells."

For lack of a better comeback, Keishin simply said, "Shut up."

"Why were you worried?" Hiyori continued to ask.

"Because it's late, because you were late! Because it's not safe for young women like you at this time – you could have been hurt. You could have been with another guy-!" His mouth would not stop running, like a tap without a handle. Months of bottled up emotions and frustrations strained on his tongue.

"Another guy?" Hiyori echoed dumbly. For a straight-a student, she had her moments.

"It's a reasonable assumption," Keishin argued, finally standing and beginning to walk around the counter. He lifted his hand and began to count things off as he went. "You're smart, you're funny when you're not being scary, you're beautiful, you lack empathy but make up for it with hard work, you have a tattoo…"

She crossed her arms defensively. "What does my tattoo have to do with any of this?"

Once close enough, Keishin used his fingers to push away the hair over her neck. Inked in black was the word for 'seek' running vertically down the neck and just behind her ear. The meaning of it was something purely sentimental – which Hiyori seemed unlikely to be, but most definitely was.

Keishin could only think of one thing to say about it. "I think it's hot."

Hiyori stared at him for a good while. Her blue eyes, pale in a way reminiscent of chips of ice, seemed to freeze him solid. There was a nagging suggestion in the back of her mind that told her he hadn't said everything. His answer was really only the product of a much simpler truth.

"Goodnight, Kei-chan."

She turned on her heel, suddenly. Keishin was caught off guard, taking a step back in his surprise. It must have been a ploy to make him admit the real truth.

"Wait." If that was the case, it was working.

Keishin fumbled for the words, blurting, "Just stay a little longer."

Hiyori was just about to reach the door, and seeing this, Keishin moved to stop her. In his hurry, he grabbed her arm a little too quickly and the force made her whirl back around. She just barely managed to stop herself from slamming into him.

"What?" Hiyori snapped, an impatient edge to her tone.

"Don't go just yet, I want to tell you something."

Her eyebrow rose in expectation. Keishin took a moment to steel himself, just a moment longer after months of preparing to tell her.

"I like you."

Her lips twitched into a smile.

"Don't laugh," growled Keishin irritably, "I mean it. I like you."

"You like me?" she echoed sceptically. Hiyori could feel the heat rushing her face at the very thought.

He nodded obstinately. "I didn't always. I mean, I always wanted to know what kissing you would be like – but I like you not just as a friend. And this isn't some stupid crush, so don't you dare laugh at me."

Hiyori didn't look the least bit ready to laugh. Her eyes had fled to the ground, finding it hard to look in his direction. The reason wasn't shame or guilt, but embarrassment. That Keishin liked her – it was both a compliment and a dream.

Her heart thudded at the very thought, the possibility that it was the truth.

"Don't act so surprised," he muttered, "I would have thought you would've figured it out by now."

"I had my suspicions," Hiyori replied carefully, "But I didn't want to invest myself in them."

"…Are you saying you don't want me to like you?"

In a carefully calculated response, she shook her head slowly. Keishin wasn't a person to rely on words, so Hiyori decided it would be best explained by her actions.

Given the differences in their height, she had to grab the collar of his shirt to pull him down. He followed her lead easily. As they moved closer together, Hiyori let her eyes flutter shut. She could feel her breath leave her, hesitating before the deed was even done.

It was Keishin, seeing her will and possessing none of the same indecision, who closed the gap. Their lips met softly, just for a second, before the kiss grew into mutual insistence. He knew exactly where he wanted his hands, around her waist, and Hiyori knew exactly how to respond. She felt that when he was finished, there would be nothing left of her.

Her heart still functioned when Keishin broke the kiss. When he continued to hug her, head lowered, his lips skimmed the skin of her tattoo and she let out a breathless gasp. Keishin heard, and so kissed her there again and provoked the same reaction.

"I _do_ want you to like me," Hiyori confessed, "Because I like you too."

It was almost perfect, and it would have been if not for the one shrill voice that sang out into the quiet.

"_Awww!_"

In a split second, Hiyori and Keishin jumped away from each other like two lovers caught in the act – which was almost more than true. Standing at the door leading to the back of the Foothill store was a woman with an imposing silhouette, her hands clasped at her chest and her smile broad.

"Mom, go away." growled Keishin.

"It's about time you two finally admitted it." Keishin's mum determinedly ignored his suggestion.

"Mrs. Ukai-" Hiyori attempted to interject.

"I can't wait to tell your father – I'm sure he'll be thrilled."

A hand fell on Hiyori's shoulder. She glanced up to the owner, surveying Keishin's irritated expression. "We're going outside for a bit." He declared.

"Are we?" murmured Hiyori.

"Yes," he hissed, "Goodbye, mum."

Not particularly fussed by it, the older woman said, "Oh, well don't be too long! Maybe you should take Hiyori home so she gets home safe!"

He raised a flippant hand in her direction, steering himself and Hiyori out the door as quickly as possible. For his mum to appear in that moment – he couldn't imagine a more embarrassing thing.

"Even my mum thinks it's dangerous for you to be out this late." Keishin sighed, the door to the store slamming shut behind him.

"I can take care of myself."

"And I only want to help you." He added.

Hiyori was silent for long minute. Though she remained under the comforting weight of his arm, and though she had no desire to move away, she remained uncertain. In truth, she couldn't help but wonder what it was all for. Would admitting their feelings really change much? She hoped not, because she rather enjoyed their dynamic. She didn't relish the thought of losing Keishin as a friend in pursuit of something romantic.

"Hiyori?"

She blurted out exactly what was on her mind. "What next?"

"What do you mean?" Keishin questioned.

She felt the chill begin to sink into her skin. The outside world smelled so much crisper than the warmth of the store. "You like me, and I reciprocate the feeling. Where does that leave us?"

Keishin felt his thoughts scatter. Response eluded him, and he felt Hiyori shift uncomfortably beside him.

"I have to go home." She declared at last, nearly losing mastery of her impassive tone.

"I'll come with you."

"No point. I'm driving, so I'll be fine."

Before Hiyori could again take a step away from him, Keishin placed himself in front of her. "Not yet." He insisted.

Next he knew, he had leant over again and she was on her toes. They kissed quickly, before pulling away with the same kind of nervous energy. Hiyori stared at him, eyes boring into him so intensely it became steadily unnerving.

"Stop that." Keishin ordered.

"Kissing you?"

"I meant the staring."

"Good." Hiyori's admission was followed by yet another kiss. Her hands rested in his hair, making it all the more easier to secure a hold over him.

It was hard for him to retain some sort of composure after that. As quickly as he could, Keishin changed the subject. "Tomorrow." He exclaimed.

Hiyori said nothing, merely continued to look at him expectantly – he hoped his blush didn't show.

"Tomorrow," Keishin reinstated, "I'll pick you up from your house at twelve. We'll go out for lunch."

"And it will be a date," Hiyori continued, "Because I'm your girlfriend and you're my boyfriend and people like that go on dates."

He nodded resolutely. She copied the action with the same rigid determination.

Her eyelids began to lower, teeth tugging on her lips. He wondered if she did it on purpose, and decided the answer the moment she began to smile. Keishin kept stiller than stone as her hands moved to rest on his shoulder. She used him as a lever, moving to whisper in his ear.

"I just had a thought," she revealed, "You won't need those magazines hidden under your bed anymore. I'm sure I'll be much better than a picture."

His temper snapped. "_Pervert_!"

When she stepped back, not a trace of amusement could be found on Hiyori's face despite the teasing kiss on his cheek. But Keishin knew otherwise.

He had felt her smile on his skin – distinct, warm and carrying the promise of truth.

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**It was hard to stretch this out into the length I wanted it to be, so that's why I added in Keishin Ukai's mum (forgive me if she's a character already established in the manga).**

**Apologies if anything seems out of character and thanks for reading! Leave a review below I love hearing what you think about my writing.**


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